Just Back (merged)

What a disappointment that was after our good run recently......poor from start to finish.

The only positive for me today was the fantastic kids in the Main Stand cheering the team on in the first half.

Just one of them where the more we tried worse we got. Missed woolford i thought, clifton and embleton had probably worst games in town shirt, it happens. Wernt ever going up, just enjoy the rest of the season- unless we play like that!!

Just struggled to put anything at all together today, Cambridge deserved the win. Hopefully just an off day.

Bad day at the office, tried to play like Barcelona and failed miserably. No tempo and lost every second ball, very frustrating. Very slow to make changes but we could have used all 7 subs today, can’t even think who would be man of the match.

Cambridge seemed better drilled and seemed to want it more, we never got going and never seemed like that we would, midfield general required someone who can grab the game by the scruff of the neck and drive us on. Still waiting to see the high tempo and pressing game we were promised when Jolly got the job.

McKeown virtually the only one to come out of it with any credit thanks to a couple of good saves which kept us in it until the end. For the outfield players, Hessenthaler was much worse than he's been of late, but Clifton and Embleton were so bad that he looked reasonable alongside them! A few decent touches from Dennis but, in general, that was absolutely woeful.

Play-off hopes are miles off the mark this season when we can put in such an inept performance against a team who has struggled so badly away from home.

Let's concentrate on getting the points on the board to guarantee safety and then look to next season.

no threat at all today, woeful performance

Wose bit was a win today would have put us just four points shy of the playoffs but in all honesty we did not create many chances. Similar to the Macclesfield game they put players behind the ball and did us on the break.

Did we really miss Ohman today?

Completely outplayed today
V disappointing
Come on Town!!

Quoted from Ipswin

Did we really miss Ohman today?

I suspect he would have dealt with the first goal better.

Quoted from Ipswin

Did we really miss Ohman today?

Not too much. It hurts me to say but we missed Woolford

We were below par in all aspects I thought. It happens, but a real missed opportunity to make some sort of a play off push. Really disappointing and well below the standard required.

Just back from the pub. So bad were we that i needed a drink after that. Their keeper was so under-worked that he could put his kit back in the kit bag unwashed and not have to bother getting a post game shower. Thomas and Dennis got nothing to work with at all.

I just don't get our approach to games sometimes. They are on an appalling away run, must be very fragile, yet we don't start games at a high tempo and go for the jugular, same with Macclesfield. Even games we win at home, we seem to sit back, allow the opposition plenty of time and space in midfield and look to hit on the break. It's a game plan that seems to work for a good part of the home games, but often away teams seem to be more mobile, have better control and win most loose balls against us. Neither do we seem able put the kind of sustained pressure on teams, when you can just feel a goal coming. Cambridge have a terrible second half record of conceding goals, but today they looked like a promotion chasing side against us, and not for the first time, we are the team that allows those on a bad trot to get back to winning ways. The inconsistency is so frustrating.

Cambridge thoroughly deserved to win and 2-0 didn't flatter them, as Macca was far more busy than their keeper. Couldn't even begin to pick a MOTM.

Quoted from ginnywings

Just back from the pub. So bad were we that i needed a drink after that. Their keeper was so under-worked that he could put his kit back in the kit bag unwashed and not have to bother getting a post game shower. Thomas and Dennis got nothing to work with at all.

I just don't get our approach to games sometimes. They are on an appalling away run, must be very fragile, yet we don't start games at a high tempo and go for the jugular, same with Macclesfield. Even games we win at home, we seem to sit back, allow the opposition plenty of time and space in midfield and look to hit on the break. It's a game plan that seems to work for a good part of the home games, but often away teams seem to be more mobile, have better control and win most loose balls against us. Neither do we seem able put the kind of sustained pressure on teams, when you can just feel a goal coming. Cambridge have a terrible second half record of conceding goals, but today they looked like a promotion chasing side against us, and not for the first time, we are the team that allows those on a bad trot to get back to winning ways. The inconsistency is so frustrating.

Cambridge thoroughly deserved to win and 2-0 didn't flatter them, as Macca was far more busy than their keeper. Couldn't even begin to pick a MOTM.

Yes, sadly, couldn't agree more.

I  think that is why we are not quite as good as some think ginny. 3 of us exiles watched last week and until we went down to ten men none of us could understand why there was this wave of confidence. We'd beaten a Newport reserve team, plastic franchise scum in the middle of a terrible run plus wins against Cheltenham and Yeovil who are both shiite. It was epitomized by ohma n who everyone was eulogising but we thought looked like a liability on the floor from start to finish.
Team is much much improved from 12 months ago but without any pace of invention we are always going to be a bit short

Too many players had off days today, we’ve been on a great run and it was bound to happen at some point. We’re a decent mid table side and a million miles better than 12 months ago.

The wing back system wasn’t working today at all, we were crying out for wingers who could get us in behind down the flanks but were limited for options in that department and I think we could do with wide man to give us a plan B if the 3-5-2 isn’t working.

Our midfield has been excellent lately, but they had the run around today. I didn’t get playing Embleton deeper and Clifton further up and both players really struggled today. Elliott was almost trying to hard and was coming far too deep to collect the ball to try and get us playing, not necessary when you’re playing with 3 centre halves. Hess ended up in our right back position too many times as well for some reason, thinking he had to cover RHJ when he went forward, again not needed in this system. I actually think we missed Woolford’s calmness on the ball and eye for a pass. Thomas and Dennis hardly had a scrap to feed on but still looked like they didn’t know each other’s game, Cookie was a miss in that final third for me.

Bad day at the office, but at least it gives MJ an idea of what we need to improve going into next season.

A few calls by the match commentator summed it up for me. "Clifton goes past two players ands then passes the ball BACKWARDS??"
"I cant actuallly work out what Town are tryinng to do?"

I repeat what i see as a major failing in our tactics, If we dont have the skills to play the ball through the defense get it wide and cross it into the box and give the strikers a chance, if you cant get into the danger zone your not going to score.

The team spirit is what has got this team where it is. We are well short of the quality to be sure of promotion next season. God knows if MJ can get in the players we need,

Very Frustrated

Thought Cambridge were awful when they first started. Looked like a team with their away record. Expected them to dissolve once we got our first.

But it never came and we gave them confidence. Their first had been coming for a while as had their second.

At its worst, every one of our passes seemed to go to a Cambridge player.

Not going to single anyone out. Hate doing that although I have a couple of concerns..

Fully deserved by Cambridge. Utterly sickening performance by us though.

Quoted from Madeleymariner

Not too much. It hurts me to say but we missed Woolford

If we are to progress, the likes of Woolford at 33 must be allowed to move on. The whole side were very poor today, every player would struggle for a 5/10 with McKeown a 6/10 for standard competence. It happens, as long as it is occasionally but we have shown real signs of progress but maybe today was a reality check. Still haven't given up on the play offs but we will need to improve ten fold. I've seen these lads give their all, and show quality and I still believe in them, just a bad day.

I thought the distribution from their keeper was superb today. Can't comment on his shot stopping as he wasn't really tested but he found his own players with pinpoint accuracy all afternoon.

Quoted from fishboyUTM

If we are to progress, the likes of Woolford at 33 must be allowed to move on. The whole side were very poor today, every player would struggle for a 5/10 with McKeown a 6/10 for standard competence. It happens, as long as it is occasionally but we have shown real signs of progress but maybe today was a reality check. Still haven't given up on the play offs but we will need to improve ten fold. I've seen these lads give their all, and show quality and I still believe in them, just a bad day.

Whilst I understand what you're saying, you're criticising a player (Woolford) who hasn't even played today. Should the young players, who were poor today, be moved on too?

A poor showing against a poor team, but we have been good in recent weeks and we are a work in progress. Clearly we need 2 or 3 better players to make progress and get into contention.

Quoted from chaos33

Whilst I understand what you're saying, you're criticising a player (Woolford) who hasn't even played today. Should the young players, who were poor today, be moved on too?

A poor showing against a poor team, but we have been good in recent weeks and we are a work in progress. Clearly we need 2 or 3 better players to make progress and get into contention.

This. We were poor today but some of this reaction has gone a bit overly dramatic, weve got some good talented young players and theyre going to get better. Course were all dissapointed but saying were not good enough and need to replace half the team, cmon, enjoy your weekend, youll feel differently on monday

Well despite a promising first 15 minutes we where all over the place, very disorganised in what looked like a complacent performance or at least a performance that lacked thought and to a degree  professionalism.

Really missed Woolly and though Dennis clearly is more than half decent without Woolford I’d have stuck with Cook as he’ll go and try and make things happen if he’s not getting any decent supply.

Thought the middle 3 couldn’t decide who was doing what and the decision to sit Embleton so deep in the first half was an odd one but I’d of got it if he’d have brought Hendrie into the game more who had acres of space on the right.

Second half they did a great job at stopping us building any tempo then again we didn’t do ourselves any favours coughing the ball up left right and centre.

Though I think we possibly made them look better than what they are in all honesty the best team won.

Bad day at the office, it’s not the first and won’t be the last. Decent performance and result at Crawley and it will all be forgotten.

UTM!!

P.S. Even though I’ve never seen us as play off contenders I still looked at the table tonight and though “what if”😉

RHJ M.O.M for me..or possibly Davies aside from that wouldnt give any of them more than a "5".  

No idea what Jolley said post match but the first 65-70 mins were awful, the last 20 an unorganised shambles and for my money it was his tactics, the players didnt choose to play that way, Clifton was up alongside the strikers when we won the ball and Hendrie was pushed up on the right, Hess dropped in to cover Hendrie and Embleton sat deep...this happened everytime we got the ball which apart from a few isolated incidents resulted in the back four having no pass into midfield, forcing them to go sideways backwards and eventually hoofing.

Was crying out for runners with the ball but took him 70 mins to clock onto it.

[/b]

Quoted from HertsGTFC

Well despite a promising first 15 minutes we where all over the place, very disorganised in what looked like a complacent performance or at least a performance that lacked thought and to a degree  professionalism.

[b]Really missed Woolly and though Dennis clearly is more than half decent without Woolford I’d have stuck with Cook as he’ll go and try and make things happen if he’s not getting any decent supply.

Thought the middle 3 couldn’t decide who was doing what and the decision to sit Embleton so deep in the first half was an odd one but I’d of got it if he’d have brought Hendrie into the game more who had acres of space on the right.

Second half they did a great job at stopping us building any tempo then again we didn’t do ourselves any favours coughing the ball up left right and centre.


Bad day at the office, it’s not the first and won’t be the last. Decent performance and result at Crawley and it will all be forgotten.

UTM!!

P.S. Even though I’ve never seen us as play off contenders I still looked at the table tonight and though “what if”😉

Though I think we possibly made them look better than what they are in all honesty the best team won.

It would be harsh to say that Cook might have been better. Dennis has a deft touch and an awareness of where to pass or move and was badly let down by midfield and wing backs.  There is a continuing underuse of wide areas which may generate crosses for Thomas or Dennis to convert.
Playing Embleton deep was a crass waste of his talents which are all to do with the final third. The inept challenge by Embleton which led to the first goal was an ironic confirmation of this. Davis was bullied for the goal after also losing the player who forced Macca to an excellent save earlier.
A half arsed interview by JT and a cliched low key response from MJ  completed the let down. Not even one jumper for goalposts.

Hard to take this loss, but I was stumped when I saw the team sheet...why he replaced cook for Dennis didn't quite add up..Cook harries the opposition in their own half and I'm not sure a convo if Thomas and Dennis would work, always too far apart from each other and for as good as Thomas has been his first touch yesterday was awful..everyone it went near him it just bounced off him and went to the opposition players...
And I have to say it, for as much as I rate Embleton highly I think he needs a rest, trying too hard, not releasing the ball quick enough and forever turning play over to easily.  
Time to take a breath, put this one to bed and go again next weekend..

For me it always needs to be one of Vernam or Cook paired with either Wes or Dennis up front.

Embleton too deep first half and didn't he didn't influence the game in the way he normally does.

Personally I'd have liked to see us sacrifice a centre half earlier than we did for an attacker. I think the way Hess drops in (and Embo yesterday) we could have got away with it.

A bad day at the office but these things happen. Nothing a little kick up the bottom can't sort.

UTM.

One interesting thing I noted from the match stats at half-time. Apparently, we committed just one foul in the first half (which, of course, they scored from).

Says a lot about the way we were set up and the lack of pressing on the ball. A side struggling with their away form couldn't ask for anything more than an easy ride into the game and we never got to grips with them after the weak start.

Quoted from Ipswin

Did we really miss Ohman today?

Frustrating as Cambridge fouls went unpunished while nearly all Ohman’s fouls have resulted in a booking. The officials were as bad as Town yesterday. He would have led the defence better, DC at fault for the second.

I hope we give Pollock, Rose starts in the remaining games.

With the points haul we've already got and after the defeat yesterday Jolley is now in a Catch 22 situation. I guess it's how he reads what the fans would like to happen. There's been a lot of talk about the play offs after the run of four wins on the trot. The slight chance has now become an improbable chance. So, does he concentrace on using the players that will be here next season to see what they can do within a formation he'd like to develop and risk results dropping off or go out and put what he thinks his best side is and finish the season strongly? Possibly somewhere between the two I guess.

Dennis's first game for a while and first partnering Thomas, Clifton's first start for a while yesterday and we know from earlier in the season Harry gets better the more games he plays. Our best midfield that's played this season has been Hessenthaler, Embleton and Clifton so I would persist with it. Embleton won't be here next season but he fulfils a role that another player Jolley needs to find in the summer nothwithstanding Whitehouse's return from injury. Even though Hess, Embleton and Clifton have all played individually well regularly, as a unit they've still not dominated games on a regular basis. I still think we're missing some strength and athleticism in there, so replacing Embleton may not need a like for like. We've had some good results since the beginning of December, but if you looked at each game individually, I'd say our midfield unit only dominated one in four of those games and that's not sustainable enough to be a promotion chasing side, so we need something different to progress and Woolford isn't the answer. He's had one or two good games, especially against a not so bothered about the league Newport, yet fans want to airbrush non-performances like Swindon as if they've not happened. However poor Embleton was yesterday he will benefit from an improving match fitness wise Clifton over the next few games.

It was noticeable that Cambridge's forwards had so much time and space compared to what Dennis and Thomas had, it's time for our defence to start defending on the front foot and not dropping off so much. Are we going to let Whitmore have a go while Ohman is out or is a 38 year old going to block up one of the spaces in the back three until he retires? I don't think we gain anything at all keeping DC in the team when we've got an adequate, fitter, quicker, stronger option on the bench that can get us on the front foot more, close down gaps between defence and attack which will certainly help our nippy midfield trio be more cohesive and sharper than the opposition in tighter spaces. The second goal was a prime example of why DC shouldn't be in the team. If he was an opposing player, we wouldn't be saying that we'd like to sign him would we? And him being on the left of the three seems to reign in Ring getting forward as much as Hendrie does on the other side.

Still not sure about Ring as a wing back. Looks a good footballer but without the pace required to get up and down. Seems more suited to having a full back behind him or being a full back himself. Could we see how Grayson does on that side as he seems more athletic or is he just here for cover for this season only? I think Ring is a good signing but haven't made up my mind about him as an effective wing back yet. Maybe a better time to judge will be after a pre-season?

Mckeown, Russell, Hendrie, RHJ, Ohman, Whitmore, Pollock, Ring, Clifton, Hess, Whitehouse, A Rose and Vernam will have us with a better nucleus in the summer, but improvements will be needed across the midfield and up front for us to properly challenge next season.

Do we invest in the players above with game time until the end of the season or not? I only watch on i-Follow so that question is better answered by fans who will invest more of their time and money in watching Town until the end of the season, and more so, Jolley himself as he plans for next season or does he go for the highest points total possible? After three barren years, it's been a welcome relief to believe in reaching the play offs however tenuous that belief was, but yesterday signalled the end of that and underlined why we're not good enough to get there.. yet. With the right additions and proper investment in squad our dreams could be a lot more realistic and built upon firmer and more established foundations next season, not this..

It's no coincidence that teams like Macclesfield, Cambridge have given us headaches.

These teams come here to defend initially but we have not got the system, pace or ability to get behind them and make chances.

M.J. admits our game is based on soaking up pressure and hitting teams on the break he did try and go for it at the end but that just exposed us to the classic counter and lets face it any pace by them would and did find D.C. wanting despite having a commanding game in the air.

Once their confidence grew we looked awful and I bet the stats prove once again we lost out on possession.

They should in all honesty had three goals if the one near the end had been converted with a two on one.

If the management team can sort out how to attack sides from the off we might get somewhere.

For all our efforts we hardly won a ball in the air up front (yet again) that is something that needs addressing for next season.

I can't fault the effort but that was disappointing and frustrating how we made so little chances against a side that has conceded so may goals this season.

We go again                                                                              UTM.

Quoted from Bigdog

With the points haul we've already got and after the defeat yesterday Jolley is now in a Catch 22 situation. I guess it's how he reads what the fans would like to happen. There's been a lot of talk about the play offs after the run of four wins on the trot. The slight chance has now become an improbable chance. So, does he concentrace on using the players that will be here next season to see what they can do within a formation he'd like to develop and risk results dropping off or go out and put what he thinks his best side is and finish the season strongly? Possibly somewhere between the two I guess.

Dennis's first game for a while and first partnering Thomas, Clifton's first start for a while yesterday and we know from earlier in the season Harry gets better the more games he plays. Our best midfield that's played this season has been Hessenthaler, Embleton and Clifton so I would persist with it. Embleton won't be here next season but he fulfils a role that another player Jolley needs to find in the summer nothwithstanding Whitehouse's return from injury. Even though Hess, Embleton and Clifton have all played individually well regularly, as a unit they've still not dominated games on a regular basis. I still think we're missing some strength and athleticism in there, so replacing Embleton may not need a like for like. We've had some good results since the beginning of December, but if you looked at each game individually, I'd say our midfield unit only dominated one in four of those games and that's not sustainable enough to be a promotion chasing side, so we need something different to progress and Woolford isn't the answer. He's had one or two good games, especially against a not so bothered about the league Newport, yet fans want to airbrush non-performances like Swindon as if they've not happened. However poor Embleton was yesterday he will benefit from a improving match fitness wise Clifton over the next few games.

It was noticeable that Cambridge's forwards had so much time and space compared to what Dennis and Thomas had, it's time for our defence to start defending on the front foot and not dropping off so much. Are we going to let Whitmore have a go while Ohman is out or is a 38 year old going to block up one of the spaces in the back three until he retires? I don't think we gain anything at all keeping DC in the team when we've got an adequate, fitter, quicker, stronger option on the bench that can get us on the front foot more, close down gaps between defence and attack which will certainly help our nippy midfield trio be more cohesive and sharper than the opposition in tighter spaces. The second goal was a prime example of why DC shouldn't be in the team. If he was an opposing player, we wouldn't be saying that we'd like to sign him would we? And him being on the left of the three seems to reign in Ring getting forward as much as Hendrie does on the other side.

Still not sure about Ring as a wing back. Looks a good footballer but without the pace required to get up and down. Seems more suited to having a full back behind him or being a full back himself. Could we see how Grayson does on that side as he seems more athletic or is he just here for cover for this season only? I think Ring is a good signing but haven't made up my mind about him as an effective wing back yet. Maybe a better time to judge will be after a pre-season?

Mckeown, Russell, Hendrie, RHJ, Ohman, Whitmore, Pollock, Ring, Clifton, Hess, A Rose and Vernam will have us with a better nucleus in the summer, but improvements will be needed across the midfield and up front for us to properly challenge next season.
Do we invest in the players above with game time until the end of the season or not? I only watch on i-Follow so that question is better answered by fans who invest more of their time and money in watching Town, and more so, Jolley himself as he plans for next season or does he go for the highest points total possible? After three barren years, it's been a welcome relief to believe in reaching the play offs however tenuous that belief was, but yesterday signalled the end of that and underlined why we're not good enough to get there.. yet. With the right additions and proper investment in squad our dreams could be a lot more realistic and built upon firmer and more established foundations next season, not this..

Excellent summary of MJ's dilemma. You can add Max Wright to that list unless his loan has been extended beyond March. One report said he was outstanding in a recent reserve game. This exile STH would like to see much earlier and braver use of the bench than yesterday.

Throughout the season when the Blundell Park pitch is dry, the surface is so bouncy and bobbly the entertainment value for the fans is really poor. Doesn't help the players, our playing style and not conducive for a decent game of football. This needs looking at next season (pre-match watering) if at all possible to add value for the paying customer..

Quoted from Bigdog

When the Blundell Park pitch is dry, the surface is so bouncy and bobbly the entertainment value for the fans is really poor. Doesn't help the players, our playing style and not conducive for a decent game of football. This needs looking at next season (pre-match watering) if at all possible to add value for the paying customer..

Cambridge played the ball on the deck well enough. We lacked intensity and tempo and, looking back, I still can’t quite work out why Hess was often at right back and Embo was so deep.

Well I find it so hard to understand how they can play so well one week and then put in such an inept performance as yesterday.
We couldn’t control the ball, pass it, or keep it. Coming out of defence was just an amble out. The two strikers were left up on their own to try and do something. Why Embo was playing so deep, sometimes he was part of the back three, I’ll  never understand.
How well, we live to fight another day.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Cambridge played the ball on the deck well enough. We lacked intensity and tempo and, looking back, I still can’t quite work out why Hess was often at right back and Embo was so deep.

Jolley said in his interview that he put Embleton deeper so he could get more of the ball ( think others have said he hasn't been involved enough in recent games.) And Clifon further forward in order to use his pace and fitness to try and get into the box. So sounds like a good idea that didn't quite work.as Jolley said he will have a good look at the videos to work out what went wrong

Quoted from Croxton

Excellent summary of MJ's dilemma. You can add Max Wright to that list unless his loan has been extended beyond March. One report said he was outstanding in a recent reserve game. This exile STH would like to see much earlier and braver use of the bench than yesterday.

This goes against everything Town supporters hold dear but in all honesty we looked so unlikely to score that I’d have been happy with us sticking a CB up front and pumping some balls into them in the last 15 minutes.

Quoted from Bigdog

Throughout the season when the Blundell Park pitch is dry, the surface is so bouncy and bobbly the entertainment value for the fans is really poor. Doesn't help the players, our playing style and not conducive for a decent game of football. This needs looking at next season (pre-match watering) if at all possible to add value for the paying customer..

The pitch is watered pre-match most games.

Quoted from arryarryarry

The pitch is watered pre-match most games.

Ahh my mistake, obviously don't see that on i-Follow.. Still doesn't look the greatest of surfaces to play on though if it isn't raining..

Quoted from NorthseaMariner

Well I find it so hard to understand how they can play so well one week and then put in such an inept performance as yesterday.
We couldn’t control the ball, pass it, or keep it. Coming out of defence was just an amble out. The two strikers were left up on their own to try and do something. Why Embo was playing so deep, sometimes he was part of the back three, I’ll  never understand.
How well, we live to fight another day.

That's where we are at the minute. We've played relatively well in different circumstances in four league games out of ten in 2019, Lincoln and Yeovil away, Newport and MK Dons at home and picked up 13 points out of 30..

To be consistent, a squad has to be built to compete better against 23 different challenges from 23 different teams than most of the other teams in the division, Add to that execution of tactics, ability and physical level of each player, willingness to die for the shirt, a regular starting eleven and consistency comes a lot easier. We've improved, but we've got some way to go yet and MJ still has to find some missing pieces of that jigsaw puzzle..

Quoted from forza ivano

Jolley said in his interview that he put Embleton deeper so he could get more of the ball ( think others have said he hasn't been involved enough in recent games.) And Clifon further forward in order to use his pace and fitness to try and get into the box. So sounds like a good idea that didn't quite work.as Jolley said he will have a good look at the videos to work out what went wrong

At least we have a manager who will try a new strategy and then when it doesn't work analyse why. This is still all part of a learning process for MJ and he will benefit from this.

Consistency is like a holy grail in football. Clearly we have improved massively this season in lots of ways but we are inconsistent. Good mini run following poor mini run. Games like yesterday won’t last long in the memory bank and we have to be philosophical. If we can gradually become more consistent next season I think we could be contenders. Well, here hoping anyway. UTM as always...

I agree. It's one of the advantages of having a progressive coach who can vary style and tactics, instead of some of the pig headed, one way, inflexible managers of the past who seem incapable/unwilling to reflect for fear of it being perceived as weakness. We've had years of that.

All the leagues are stuffed with inconsistent teams.It's one of the reasons bookies make a killing.

To be fair we didn't play that well against Cheltenham,but the result masked that.

Not a lot I can add other than it really irritates me when we put in stinkers of performances when we’ve got an above average gate. It was always going to be unlikely that we got into a play off spot on the final day but having sizeable crowds at this point of the season is definitely going to help pay for a squad that makes the play offs more likely next season.

He shouldn't need a fking video replay...we sat too deep off an opponent whose away record is abysmal and allowed them to grow in confidence.
We tried hitting front to back balls against a 6'4" centre half.
Our set pieces are terrible....we look more likely to concede a goal than we do scoring one.
Our keeper has meltdowns on crosses.
We have a proven fox in the box type striker who never got a single opportunity to attack a ball into the box as there was zero service from wide.
Sitting deep and hoping to hit teams on the counter needs players with pace...of which we had none on the field.

We are organised, hard working and technically better on the ball than we have been in recent seasons but we are not a real threat going forward in open play or from corners/ free kicks.  

If you need to analize beyond that then i might start to worry.

Must say it's hard to argue with any of Moosey's points although I think Macca has been a lot more comfortable on crosses despite yesterdays debacle.

Quoted from moosey_club

He shouldn't need a fking video replay...we sat too deep off an opponent whose away record is abysmal and allowed them to grow in confidence.
We tried hitting front to back balls against a 6'4" centre half.
Our set pieces are terrible....we look more likely to concede a goal than we do scoring one.
Our keeper has meltdowns on crosses.
We have a proven fox in the box type striker who never got a single opportunity to attack a ball into the box as there was zero service from wide.
Sitting deep and hoping to hit teams on the counter needs players with pace...of which we had none on the field.

We are organised, hard working and technically better on the ball than we have been in recent seasons but we are not a real threat going forward in open play or from corners/ free kicks.  

If you need to analize beyond that then i might start to worry.

Completely get this, yesterday was a testimony to over thinking things both on and off the pitch on a day that should have been all about get the ball forward as quickly as possible, shoot on sight and test their keeper.

Quoted from HertsGTFC

Completely get this, yesterday was a testimony to over thinking things both on and off the pitch on a day that should have been all about get the ball forward as quickly as possible, shoot on sight and test their keeper.

Aye. Fck your UEFA A,B,C,D licenses and text book tactics......attack attack attack...a team low on confidence and results need pressuring from the off.

There have been a few on here saying Jimmy Mac should have done better by coming for the free kick
I was behind the guy that took the free kick and it was a beauty.
Any keeper would have been in two minds wether to stick or twist.
It was a great ball into the box and a good finish.

Quoted from TAGG

There have been a few on here saying Jimmy Mac should have done better by coming for the free kick
I was behind the guy that took the free kick and it was a beauty.
Any keeper would have been in two minds wether to stick or twist.
It was a great ball into the box and a good finish.

Hardly say it was a great finish it hit the top of his head and went in,he didn't know he had scored for a couple of seconds.

Quoted from friskneymariner

Hardly say it was a great finish it hit the top of his head and went in,he didn't know he had scored for a couple of seconds.

He was there to ‘hit it off the top of his head’ so yes a good goal 🤪

After that they played the classic defend and counter attack game yet still had more possession and with a couple of pace men up front they made us look awful.

The stats reflect just how bad we were in all departments.

Line-ups
Match Stats
Home Team Grimsby         Away Team Cambridge

Possession
Home46%    Away54%  yet again at home?? really against a side that had an appalling away record?

Shots
Home6 Away11

Shots on Target
Home3 Away3

Corners
Home2 Away3

Fouls
Home6 Away13

Big lack in the middle for me, has been for some time. Think we are one player missing from being a very good team.

Thought the player looked lethargic and was second to everything. maybe a bit of complacency had crept in and thought we could win at a canter.

Quoted from moosey_club

He shouldn't need a fking video replay...we sat too deep off an opponent whose away record is abysmal and allowed them to grow in confidence.
We tried hitting front to back balls against a 6'4" centre half.
Our set pieces are terrible....we look more likely to concede a goal than we do scoring one.
Our keeper has meltdowns on crosses.
We have a proven fox in the box type striker who never got a single opportunity to attack a ball into the box as there was zero service from wide.
Sitting deep and hoping to hit teams on the counter needs players with pace...of which we had none on the field.

We are organised, hard working and technically better on the ball than we have been in recent seasons but we are not a real threat going forward in open play or from corners/ free kicks.  

If you need to analize beyond that then i might start to worry.

But the video of the match helps the manager and his assistant go through the match. It is also a way of showing a player what he should be doing and his positioning. I sit in the Upper Findus , just under the cameras, and you get a completely different perspective of how the game unfolds as opposed to being at ground level. Of course the points you make are all valid but you still need a means of recapturing events and showing them as opposed to trying to remember them.

Just watched the so called highlights on sky. Showed 4 attacks by Cambridge. Nothing from us. Not good😪

Quoted from rancido

But the video of the match helps the manager and his assistant go through the match. It is also a way of showing a player what he should be doing and his positioning. I sit in the Upper Findus , just under the cameras, and you get a completely different perspective of how the game unfolds as opposed to being at ground level. Of course the points you make are all valid but you still need a means of recapturing events and showing them as opposed to trying to remember them.

But to me the players were clearly following the plan he set !!! He said as much afterwards, Embleton deep, Clifton high ..thats what they did on the day and we looked shite for it.  
He cant legislate for the terrible control and distribution of any player on the day admittedly , but the system and approach he set was wrong.

The only thing on this occasion he needs to look at is a mirror.

Hopefully he will recognise the error and go back to something a little less complicated which enables the technical players to be within passing distance of each other.

Quoted from moosey_club

But to me the players were clearly following the plan he set !!! He said as much afterwards, Embleton deep, Clifton high ..thats what they did on the day and we looked shite for it.  
He cant legislate for the terrible control and distribution of any player on the day admittedly , but the system and approach he set was wrong.

The only thing on this occasion he needs to look at is a mirror.

Hopefully he will recognise the error and go back to something a little less complicated which enables the technical players to be within passing distance of each other.

You are both right. I also sit in the upper and fail to understand why someone on the coaching staff does not spend time, in the first half at least, reporting back from this vantage point. The set up of the opposition, the extent to which our defence drops off and the accuracy of Macca's kicking are just a few of many aspects of the game less visible at pitch side. Ironically Taft, their goalscorer, looked shaky early on and vulnerable on the deck. We failed to probe this potential weakness after the first 10 minutes.

Quoted from Croxton

You are both right. I also sit in the upper and fail to understand why someone on the coaching staff does not spend time, in the first half at least, reporting back from this vantage point. The set up of the opposition, the extent to which our defence drops off and the accuracy of Macca's kicking are just a few of many aspects of the game less visible at pitch side. Ironically Taft, their goalscorer, looked shaky early on and vulnerable on the deck. We failed to probe this potential weakness after the first 10 minutes.

The distance in McKeown's kicks has improved dramatically this season but they are not accurate. Their two centre halves must have thought Christmas had come early when we resorted to big punts up to our strikers, both of whom are under 6ft.

Quoted from moosey_club

But to me the players were clearly following the plan he set !!! He said as much afterwards, Embleton deep, Clifton high ..thats what they did on the day and we looked shite for it.  
He cant legislate for the terrible control and distribution of any player on the day admittedly , but the system and approach he set was wrong.

The only thing on this occasion he needs to look at is a mirror.

Hopefully he will recognise the error and go back to something a little less complicated which enables the technical players to be within passing distance of each other.

Exactly! By reviewing the game, stage by stage and seeing how the opposition reacted to and countered his format he will learn a lot. The format didn't work - he knows that and so doe we. But surely by using a style in match conditions is the only way to progress. It's all well and good trying this on the training pitch but you are playing against your own squad and they know what you are trying to achieve. The opposition are an unknown quantity and that is when you really know when something works or not.

Just one of those days were everything was wrong.  Putting a positive slant on it, if players are going to have stinkers I'd rather they all get them out the way at the same time.

McKeown in no way at any fault for the first goal.  He had already made his trademark wonder save early in the first half when their guy was through on goal.   We definitely missed Ohman and his presence, Davis didn't do much wrong but no way near as dominant and it showed.  Thought Collins had a decent game until his error for the second and then was badly exposed for pace as the guy galloped away at ease.  For those calling for Whitmore to step into his shoes, is Whitmore left-footed?  If not then it's a no for me.  You can't get away with a right footer playing on the left-hand side of a three.  As others have said, I'm a bit unsure on Ring.  He deserves time to adapt and the time for judging will be next season after a full pre-season.  

Midfield was the worst I've seen in a fair old while.  Clifton had a 'mare and he knew it, looked very frustrated with himself when he came off.  Hessenthaler tried but he didn't reach the levels of previous weeks.  Embleton needs a rest, it's that simple.  The decision to put him deeper was the wrong one, I can see the thinking behind it as we needed someone to tick things over like Woolford does. But whereas Woolford keeps the ball moving and retains possession by keeping it simple, Embleton tried too hard to play a killer pass or beat a man.  Of the three, I would have had Hessenthaler sitting the deepest.  

Up top I think someone should have introduced Thomas and Dennis to each other before the game.  They were absolute miles apart of each other all game, can't remember them linking up once.  Some pairings just click, some just don't.  Based on that performance, this is a pairing that's not well suited.  Both can count themselves very fortunate to not be subbed.  That said the service up to them was very, very poor indeed.  I understand the desire for goalscorers and ideally two guys up front banging them in would be brilliant.  But Cook brings more to the frontline than just goals, his work-rate really sets the tempo for everyone else.  

Options on the bench limited the changes we could make in midfield but I thought Jolley would have been justified in making at least one change after 30 minutes.  Either in midfield or attack, it was crying out for Cook's energy and perhaps someone like Vernam who would get the ball on the deck and try to do something.  As changes were made they appeared to be more of panic moves than something with logic behind it.  The fact we ended the game with 5 strikers on the pitch and a bit of a mis-matched midfield sort of summed the day up.

Very disappointing overall, very flat and definitely 3 points thrown away.  We made Cambridge look like Barcelona at times but really they were quite poor.  They were just better organised than us and seemed to have more energy - which has been our strength of late.   Feels like a case of 3 steps forward and then 1 step back, which is still progress and important to remember.  I don't think the blip justified some of the over-reactions I've seen, but equally so I don't think it should be ignored.   We made 3 changes and we were totally out of sorts, that's not something that can continue to happen.  We were up against a poor side in dreadful form, we should have hammered them and continued the feel good factor.  I still think we've got an outside chance of the play-offs, there's lots and lots of points that will be dropped by everyone in and around those places.  But it's next season when we'll be a real threat.

Quoted from rancido

Exactly! By reviewing the game, stage by stage and seeing how the opposition reacted to and countered his format he will learn a lot. The format didn't work - he knows that and so doe we. But surely by using a style in match conditions is the only way to progress. It's all well and good trying this on the training pitch but you are playing against your own squad and they know what you are trying to achieve. The opposition are an unknown quantity and that is when you really know when something works or not.

That's not quite right, all EFL clubs have access to every other clubs matches on video.

Quoted from diehardmariner

Just one of those days were everything was wrong.  Putting a positive slant on it, if players are going to have stinkers I'd rather they all get them out the way at the same time.

McKeown in no way at any fault for the first goal.  He had already made his trademark wonder save early in the first half when their guy was through on goal.   We definitely missed Ohman and his presence, Davis didn't do much wrong but no way near as dominant and it showed.  Thought Collins had a decent game until his error for the second and then was badly exposed for pace as the guy galloped away at ease. For those calling for Whitmore to step into his shoes, is Whitmore left-footed?  If not then it's a no for me.  You can't get away with a right footer playing on the left-hand side of a three.  As others have said, I'm a bit unsure on Ring.  He deserves time to adapt and the time for judging will be next season after a full pre-season.  

Midfield was the worst I've seen in a fair old while.  Clifton had a 'mare and he knew it, looked very frustrated with himself when he came off.  Hessenthaler tried but he didn't reach the levels of previous weeks.  Embleton needs a rest, it's that simple.  The decision to put him deeper was the wrong one, I can see the thinking behind it as we needed someone to tick things over like Woolford does. But whereas Woolford keeps the ball moving and retains possession by keeping it simple, Embleton tried too hard to play a killer pass or beat a man.  Of the three, I would have had Hessenthaler sitting the deepest.  

Up top I think someone should have introduced Thomas and Dennis to each other before the game.  They were absolute miles apart of each other all game, can't remember them linking up once.  Some pairings just click, some just don't.  Based on that performance, this is a pairing that's not well suited.  Both can count themselves very fortunate to not be subbed.  That said the service up to them was very, very poor indeed.  I understand the desire for goalscorers and ideally two guys up front banging them in would be brilliant.  But Cook brings more to the frontline than just goals, his work-rate really sets the tempo for everyone else.  

Options on the bench limited the changes we could make in midfield but I thought Jolley would have been justified in making at least one change after 30 minutes.  Either in midfield or attack, it was crying out for Cook's energy and perhaps someone like Vernam who would get the ball on the deck and try to do something.  As changes were made they appeared to be more of panic moves than something with logic behind it.  The fact we ended the game with 5 strikers on the pitch and a bit of a mis-matched midfield sort of summed the day up.

Very disappointing overall, very flat and definitely 3 points thrown away.  We made Cambridge look like Barcelona at times but really they were quite poor.  They were just better organised than us and seemed to have more energy - which has been our strength of late.   Feels like a case of 3 steps forward and then 1 step back, which is still progress and important to remember.  I don't think the blip justified some of the over-reactions I've seen, but equally so I don't think it should be ignored.   We made 3 changes and we were totally out of sorts, that's not something that can continue to happen.  We were up against a poor side in dreadful form, we should have hammered them and continued the feel good factor.  I still think we've got an outside chance of the play-offs, there's lots and lots of points that will be dropped by everyone in and around those places.  But it's next season when we'll be a real threat.

Looking back at the Lincoln game, Whitmore passed more than adequately with his left foot, which surprised me because I thought he may struggle playing on the left of three. I think it's more important that we have a mobile back three that plays higher up and on the front foot more rather than selecting personnel on how good they are with their left foot. Don't care how the three is made up from Ohman, Davis, RHJ and Whitmore, it's time to thank DC for his services and push on without him. DC's left foot wasn't very good with the pass straight to the opposition for their second goal, and as you say, very easily outpaced too. He's been a good servant for us but it's time to look to the future. Not meant to be an anti DC comment, more of a realistic pro progression of the team point of view. I don't see how him playing the last ten games is going to help us next season or the players who are most likely going to be with us getting splinters on the bench..

I was thinking more we need to look at someone who will be here next season and can fill in that role on a permanent basis, by that I'm thinking Grayson - if Jolley views him as someone he could bring in for the whole of next season.

I suppose what Collins does bring is experience, which we generally lack otherwise.  Ring is still adapting to the English game so it's important he does have someone who can guide him through the first few months.  You say about Whitmore's passing against Lincoln, it was fine but whenever play went across to that side he had to come inside (naturally so and on his stronger foot) it slowed us down if we tried to move the play across at the back.  The left sided centre-back also has to more or less play full-back when his wing-back has bombed on, I believe Collins played left -back quite a bit for Stoke and Sunderland.  That I'm aware of Whitmore hasn't played full-back at all, certainly not on his weaker foot.    

I did actually think Whitmore would have been the better option to replace Ohman as he appears more dominant in the air than Davis.  

Quoted from diehardmariner

I was thinking more we need to look at someone who will be here next season and can fill in that role on a permanent basis, by that I'm thinking Grayson - if Jolley views him as someone he could bring in for the whole of next season.

I suppose what Collins does bring is experience, which we generally lack otherwise.  Ring is still adapting to the English game so it's important he does have someone who can guide him through the first few months.  You say about Whitmore's passing against Lincoln, it was fine but whenever play went across to that side he had to come inside (naturally so and on his stronger foot) it slowed us down if we tried to move the play across at the back.  The left sided centre-back also has to more or less play full-back when his wing-back has bombed on, I believe Collins played left -back quite a bit for Stoke and Sunderland.  That I'm aware of Whitmore hasn't played full-back at all, certainly not on his weaker foot.    

I did actually think Whitmore would have been the better option to replace Ohman as he appears more dominant in the air than Davis.  

Because I was concerned about his selection on the left, I specifically watched him Diehard, and he passed accurately with his left foot without coming back inside. Surprised me because I thought he couldn't, but he could and did..

We're far too deep when we're defending and MJ needs a rethink and possibly go back to a higher pressing game from the back to help the midfield. I don't like how we are setting up to play at all.

As for Grayson. Looks like he's down the pecking order at CB. He's played wide before so wouldn't mind having a look at him at left wing back as he seems more athletic than Ring.

Time for MJ to experiment and learn more about the squad rather than tried and trusted, but not to the extent that Bignot went to..

Quoted from Croxton

You are both right. I also sit in the upper and fail to understand why someone on the coaching staff does not spend time, in the first half at least, reporting back from this vantage point. The set up of the opposition, the extent to which our defence drops off and the accuracy of Macca's kicking are just a few of many aspects of the game less visible at pitch side. Ironically Taft, their goalscorer, looked shaky early on and vulnerable on the deck. We failed to probe this potential weakness after the first 10 minutes.

There's normally someone up on the camera gantry doing analytics stuff. Would have thought they'd be in contact with the bench during the match.

Would anyone be suprised if Whitmore isn't here next season..seems to be 5th choice defender now that RHJ has performed so well there.  I think he's done ok when asked though does tend to dive in a bit much.

Quoted from Sigone

Would anyone be suprised if Whitmore isn't here next season..seems to be 5th choice defender now that RHJ has performed so well there.  I think he's done ok when asked though does tend to dive in a bit much.

If we're planning on playing with 3 centre backs we'd need a minimum of 5 and it's not so bad being 5th choice if three are starting. He's still young, worked with MJ before so might want to stay here and develop.

Quoted from arryarryarry

That's not quite right, all EFL clubs have access to every other clubs matches on video.

I know that but they are an unknown quantity as regards how they will deal with your formation.  Of course if  you have used exactly the same formation ( players and set-up ) against the oppositions identical line-up and game plan then it won't be an unknown situation.

Quoted from Chrisblor

There's normally someone up on the camera gantry doing analytics stuff. Would have thought they'd be in contact with the bench during the match.

I stand corrected if that is the case.  He/she must have heard the clamour for Embleton to be further forward but I daresay the Main stand had already made themselves heard!

Quoted from Chrisblor

There's normally someone up on the camera gantry doing analytics stuff. Would have thought they'd be in contact with the bench during the match.

The club have not replaced the analyst after he left at the end of last season.

Quoted from arryarryarry

The club have not replaced the analyst after he left at the end of last season.

Maybe he doesn't know how to get down.

Quoted from Bigdog

Because I was concerned about his selection on the left, I specifically watched him Diehard, and he passed accurately with his left foot without coming back inside. Surprised me because I thought he couldn't, but he could and did..

We're far too deep when we're defending and MJ needs a rethink and possibly go back to a higher pressing game from the back to help the midfield. I don't like how we are setting up to play at all.

As for Grayson. Looks like he's down the pecking order at CB. He's played wide before so wouldn't mind having a look at him at left wing back as he seems more athletic than Ring.

Time for MJ to experiment and learn more about the squad rather than tried and trusted, but not to the extent that Bignot went to..

Fair enough on Whitmore then, I thought he slowed it down a bit and looked unnatural (not his fault) but if you were specifically looking for something there's no argument to that.  Not convinced I would want Whitmore as a long term left-sided central defender though.  

I agree we were too deep on Saturday, but of late I think we've stepped up far higher and taken the game to sides more.   We didn't get off on the right foot for my liking.  I say this without trying to be disrespectful but if we're going to be as good as we think we should be, we need to see sides who come here in such poor form as cannon fodder.  That's not arrogance and I would never want our players to think they just have to turn up, but I want us to have the absolute belief that they're going to destroy sides.  On Saturday I didn't get the feeling that we really even believed we could score a goal, never mind batter a side.  Compare that with how we approached the Notts County game, high tempo from the off and in their faces from the get-go.  Early goal, game more or less decided and then it's a case of how many.  

The lack of tempo, in my view, was caused by a couple of things.  No Jordan Cook is the biggest one for me as he's one of the key players who sets the tempo.  This was made even worse by the fact that one of the other key players had a stinker (Harry Clifton).  The midfield as a whole had a poor game, even Hessenthaler who has been excellent of late.  Up top Dennis was blowing out of his bottom after five minutes.  

In terms of Jolley experimenting, I'm not sure.  I don't think we're out of anything just yet and I do worry that if we try to tinker too much we just lose momentum and flounder to the end of the season.  He won't admit it in public but Jolley probably needs to make a decision if the season is over or not. If it is then he does need to give fringe players a chance.  Max Wright is another who would benefit from a run of games to see what he can do.  If we are going to experiment I wouldn't mind seeing various combinations up front.  Cook/Vernam.  Vernam/Dennis.  Thomas/Vernam.  There's lots of options there that I think could work next season.  Probably a good idea to see how we get on without Embleton too, presuming he won't be here next season.  In fact I think he could do with a rest regardless.

The annoying thing is if we’d won, we’d only be 4 points from the playoffs. The season still isn’t over in that respect so I hope they come out all guns a blazing on Saturday. So disappointed with our efforts on Saturday.......

I thought that Dennis showed some very good touches on the occasions that we got the ball close enough to him to actually reach it. Some nice control and first time lay-offs and the same couldn't be said for Thomas who just didn't get involved. That said, such was the ineptitude of the midfield, I don't really blame either of the forwards for not achieving much. We were just so, so poor in possession and the forward passing wasn't nearly good enough on the day.

We certainly don't seem to have the legs for a high-tempo pressing game all the time (still a relative lack of pace in the squad), but we need to do much better than that and we have shown this is possible in previous games.

Service was very poor but the front pairing can't be without criticism in my eyes.  On a basic level, they didn't do enough closing down or getting underneath the skin of the Cambridge defence.   But it was the amount of space between them when we had the ball that really annoyed me, they were absolutely miles apart.  At no point did they look capable of linking up.    Sure it was the first time they've started together but they've both got enough games under their belt to know how to work as an effective pairing.  

That all said, it was helped by the fact that Embleton, as our link between midfield and attack was so deep and our wingbacks didn't really get forward much at all.

I'm not concerned that we don't have the legs to play high-tempo.  We just missed a few key players and nearly everyone had an off day.  We didn't retain the ball in the absence of Woolford, I know he's not popular with some but he's more important than he gets credit for.  Be it him or someone else, we need to make sure we've got at least one player with similar qualities in the squad for next season.

Quoted from Croxton

I stand corrected if that is the case.  He/she must have heard the clamour for Embleton to be further forward but I daresay the Main stand had already made themselves heard!

Really? I am a main stander and can assure you we all felt Embeton was playing far to deep. The fact was we got our tactics wrong against a shell shocked away side at home we should have played much higher up.

Of course you need to rely on your defenders to cover any threats and that includes pace.

Jolley is still very much on a learning curve hopefully this will give him food for thought whilst playoffs seem a bridge to far it would be nice to look at an offensive option at least at home.

The few times we did hit Dennis he had no option but to play it back Thomas was nowhere near him maybe we needed Cardwell on earlier to win some balls in the air and put pressure on their defenders who were having it far to easy?

Get Vernam on play him higher up and Woolford to use his better brain and cooler head.

I felt he left the changes far to long against Camb's at half time it was obvious we were not playing well they made substitutions before us and consolidated.

Jolley and co lost the battle of tactics that day.

Quoted from Mrs Doyle

Really? I am a main stander and can assure you we all felt Embeton was playing far to deep. The fact was we got our tactics wrong against a shell shocked away side at home we should have played much higher up.

Of course you need to rely on your defenders to cover any threats and that includes pace.

Jolley is still very much on a learning curve hopefully this will give him food for thought whilst playoffs seem a bridge to far it would be nice to look at an offensive option at least at home.

The few times we did hit Dennis he had no option but to play it back Thomas was nowhere near him maybe we needed Cardwell on earlier to win some balls in the air and put pressure on their defenders who were having it far to easy?

Get Vernam on play him higher up and Woolford to use his better brain and cooler head.

I felt he left the changes far to long against Camb's at half time it was obvious we were not playing well they made substitutions before us and consolidated.

Jolley and co lost the battle of tactics that day.

I thought that after the HT break, if things hadn't changed Jolley should have been looking to bring on either Cook or Vernam within the first 10/15 minutes of the second half to give them at least 30 minutes to run at their defence

Delaying the substitutions let Cambridge settle even more in to the game so I agree with you Mrs Doyle... MJ's tactics were a big contributor to the defeat

[/b]

Quoted from Mrs Doyle

[b]Really? I am a main stander and can assure you we all felt Embeton was playing far to deep. The fact was we got our tactics wrong against a shell shocked away side at home we should have played much higher up.

Of course you need to rely on your defenders to cover any threats and that includes pace.

Jolley is still very much on a learning curve hopefully this will give him food for thought whilst playoffs seem a bridge to far it would be nice to look at an offensive option at least at home.

The few times we did hit Dennis he had no option but to play it back Thomas was nowhere near him maybe we needed Cardwell on earlier to win some balls in the air and put pressure on their defenders who were having it far to easy?

Get Vernam on play him higher up and Woolford to use his better brain and cooler head.

I felt he left the changes far to long against Camb's at half time it was obvious we were not playing well they made substitutions before us and consolidated.

Jolley and co lost the battle of tactics that day.

I think you mistook my meaning! Yes I'm sure you lot were as perplexed as we were. Those magnets and whiteboard need locking away for a while. As you say, Vernam could have caused Taft and co some discomfort given a full half.